1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of clamping arrangements for compression-mounted power electronic devices such as thyristors, SCR's etc., and more particularly to improved arrangements for securing the clamping arrangement when clamping force is applied.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various clamping arrangements are known for compression mounted power electronic devices, i.e. where a power electronic device is clamped against a heat sink or other support member. For example, see the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,661,013; 3,651,383; 3,688,159; 3,867,003; 3,982,308; 4,636,917; and 5,483,103. Additionally, commercial examples are found in an ABB brochure 34-300 (September 1996) and in a PQA '97 North America (Mar. 3-6, 1997) paper entitled "Switching Megawatts in Microseconds". Two types of clamping arrangements are described by these arrangements, a first type that clamps an overall stack of alternating electronic power devices with interposed heat sinks and a second type wherein clamping is accomplished for each sub-assembly of a power electronic device and a heat sink or the like, in some cases the sub-assemblies being combined in an overall stack arrangement.
While the prior art arrangements may provide useful clamping arrangements, these prior arrangements do not provide a compact, economical arrangement that is easily assembled or field disassembled from economical parts to form modules that are easily and efficiently combined into an overall stack of modules.